About

Manuel Pinto

Manuel was born and raised in France, educated in the United States, and has called the caribbean coast of Costa Rica home the past 16 years. He first picked up a camera at an early age with his father, who worked as photojournalist for Paris-Match in the 60s and 70s.

Manuel's life can be best described as one of adventure, self reinvention and continuous metamorphosis. He attended naval military school since the young age of 10, from which he graduated at the top of his class and continued on to Vanderbilt University to obtain a degree in Biomedical Engineering. After college in 1991, Manuel began an 11 year career in the corporate pharmaceutical research world, where he rose up to become the director of clinical operations.

In 2002, yearning for a sudden desire for change and lifestyle, he quit his career, sold off his house and belongings, and purchased a piece of raw jungle near beach in Costa Rica. Starting from complete scratch, he rebuilt a new life, his dream house and raised 2 daughters.

In the past 15 years, Manuel has run several successful real estate and tourism businesses, where he perfected the art of interior photography. The diverse landscape and coastlines of Costa Rica then brought him to discover a new passion and talent for landscapes.

Through travel and consequences, Manuel has recently stepped into the festival culture and adapted a unique ability to capture the essence and emotions of events through his own style and interpretations.

Manuel is currently working on several gallery projects between Costa Rica, Miami and Boulder. He is co-producing a photo book showcasing Costa Rica's diversity and has worked with the in-house media teams of many top international festivals including Envision, Symbiosis and Burning Man. His work was recently showcased in the Burning Man - No Spectator exhibition at the Renwick Gallery Smithsonian Art Institute.